Dinner With the Weasleys
by jenbeecreativity
Summary: On one late summer evening, Luna Lovegood observes and reflects on what has become of the red-haired clan.  Explores the futures of each main character in the series


Dinner With the Weasleys

(A Narrative in Luna Lovegood's Point of View)

Everyone was babbling. It was very amusing. Whenever the clan of red heads got together there was always babbling.

At one end of the table the oldest Weasley son, Billius, and his part-Veela wife Fleur, were cooing over their newborn, Victoire. I think Victoire is a lovely name for a baby, especially since she was born on the first anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Anyway, since Victoire became a new fixture of the Weasley family it seemed Bill and Fleur could concentrate on nothing else.

Molly Weasley- oh how I do love Molly, she's the one who first started inviting me to these Weasley family get-togethers after the first anniversary of the war. We all had dinner together after Ginny, Hermione, and I all graduated.

(You know Hermione went back to Hogwarts to make up her seventh year that she missed fighting Voldemort with Harry and Ronald. She did her seventh year with Ginny and me, it was quite lovely. Harry and Ronald didn't come back though. They wouldn't. They never much cared for schoolwork, and besides Harry still had to save the world, one still-at-large Death Eater at a time. He got into Auror training without even doing N.E.W.T.'s.)

But so we had dinner together after Hogwarts graduation a couple of months ago with the whole Weasley family, Harry and Hermione (who are basically Weasley family anyway) and Neville.

I do like Neville a great deal. Right now he's studying to become a herbologist and often takes trips to Wales or Ireland to play with some newly discovered plant. It's all very fascinating- I think I'd like to do that someday, but with animals.

So Mrs. Weasley invited us last May for dinner with the Weasley family. Mrs. Weasley cried a lot because it wasn't long after the anniversary of Fred's death, but she told me and Neville we were welcome back at any time for dinner. And then the next week there was an invite from Ginny saying to come back again the next Sunday night for dinner.

Now we come every week-the Weasleys babble (their smiles are just starting to be a more permanent thing around the household. I try to tell them that Fred isn't gone, but they don't believe me. I tell them he's at George and Ronald's shop- you know Ronald joined George running Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes after Fred's death; it makes them both feel better. Fred is everywhere we are. He's even at this table right now laughing with everyone. Of course you can't see him if you're not looking for him, but I know that some of us can see him. Harry can see him. Harry sees Fred and Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks and Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore and even his parents eating dinner with us. Harry understands.

Harry didn't always understand the dead-after Sirius Black travelled through the veil in the Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries he was very upset, he didn't understand that Sirius wasn't gone. But now he knows. I can see that he knows his family and his mentors are always there with him, whether alive or dead. He is a lot happier now.

Mrs. Weasley bustled around the table, torn between helping Bill and Fleur coo over the baby, forcing Harry to eat more, and making sure all the plates are full. She smiled, but I know that she's still very sad about Fred, and even Nymphadora and Remus. She liked Nymphadora a lot. She tries to hide her sadness for the good of the family, though. Mrs. Weasley is very strong.

Charlie was talking to Mr. Weasley about something in the Daily Prophet- honestly I don't understand the continued desire to read the Daily Prophet. They've been telling lies for years, they hated Harry and Dumbledore, they were run by the Death Eaters, and now that the war is over the Weasleys have all gone back to reading it as though nothing has happened. Daddy's been saying the Prophet's tripe for years, and I agree with him.

George is talking to Ginny and Harry- something about the latest Quidditch match between the Tutshill Tornadoes and the Holyhead Harpies. Ginny told me about those teams. She hates the Tornadoes she says because they always win, but I think it's because she doesn't like Cho Chang. Cho Chang always loved the Tornadoes- whenever Quidditch would come up in conversation in the Ravenclaw common room she was always there, breaking off from her giggling friends to fiercely support the Tornadoes. Ginny doesn't like Cho Chang, though she never says it. She was very upset during our fourth year when Harry dated Cho, and when they broke up Ginny could tell that Cho still had feelings for him. I'm glad Harry didn't stay with Cho, he was never really happy with her. Plus, of course, her father is part of the Whooping Plot to give all the owls in Britain whooping coughs so none of us can get our mail. It would be better if Harry stayed away from Cho and her father. And Ginny is much better for Harry. I do love them both together.

Ginny tried out for a bunch of Quidditch teams this summer and the Holyhead Harpies might accept her on their reserve team. Ginny is very good at Quidditch, I know that she will be very successful. I commentated one of her games at Hogwarts once. And Ginny loves the Holyhead Harpies, she has posters of them in her room and she often talks about them.

Like today as she sat next to Harry and across from George her face was lit up and blazing; she looked so proud and adamant. I do love Ginny. Harry was looking at her too- I can tell he was trying to stay with the conversation but he kept looking at Ginny's flushed face and I know that he was just thinking about how beautiful she is and how lucky he is to have her. Harry always seems surprised to have good things in his life- he never had the when he was with his aunt and uncle, they treated him horribly. And then even during Hogwarts he was fighting for his life and watching his friends die- He is immeasurably grateful for any piece of normal happiness he has in the world.

He was holding Ginny's hand and he looked as though of all the places in the world, this was where he wanted to be most. Even though Ginny was fiercely arguing with George about the Harpies' chasing strategy, she gripped his hand back tightly, and I know that she is thinking about how she is just as grateful to have Harry in her life. Goodness knows she's liked him long enough.

George was teasing Ginny. Of course he hates the Tornadoes, and I know he is just as fond of the Harpies as Ronald and Harry are (which is a great deal), but he kept making biting comments about them just to make Ginny riled up. Her older brothers do that a lot and Ginny rises to the bait every time, determined to defend her Harpies no matter what. Ronald laughed and nudged George, implying that he should lay off their little sister just a bit. George's mischievous smile back at Ronald was a little forced, just like his mother's had been, and his eyes went vacant for a second. But then the moment passed, George blinked a bit, and the real smile eased back on his face as he looked back at his sister.

I hope George will not become too dependent on Ronald- he knows that Ronald will never be Fred, or replace Fred, but sometimes he wants Ron to be his other half so badly that he forgets. Ron won't be at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes forever; eventually he'll make his own career (he wants to be an auror like Harry) and I hope that George won't have made him a replacement for Fred in his mind. Sometimes, like then at the Sunday dinner table, George glances over and expects to see Fred with him, laughing conspiratorially and just as intent on mayhem and tomfoolery.

Ron looked back at George, cheerfully unaware of George's momentary lapse. His arm was around Hermione's waist and he sat, torn between three things: his third helping of mixed berry fruit tart, the discussion of Quidditch, and Hermione's conversation with Neville. Neville was sitting next to Hermione on her other side, gesturing hugely, his face lit up and his eyes wide. Hermione was nodding vigorously, a spark in her eye as she opened her mouth to reply. They were talking about Neville's internship with the MHRF (Magical Horticulturist Research Foundation) of Great Britain. Hermione seemed very interested. I know that she pretends to hate magical law, but I think that it is definitely in the cards for her future, and when she does, the Foundation will probably be a contact of hers if she succeeds high enough. Hermione will. She doesn't have the mind for thinking outside the box, but changing policies and rewriting laws will be perfect for her meticulous, narrow thinking.

The only one missing from the table was Percival Weasley- he was called away on urgent business in Ireland. The Weasley family has finally comfortably accepted him back- Ginny told me all about the row they had because of Percy's ambition- but now he is back a part of the family, and closer to George than ever. They both took Fred's death the hardest. Percy has always been like Hermione- close-minded, he needs to have proof for everything in front of him, so I don't think he approves of me and Daddy.

Daddy is doing wonderfully. Quibbler sales skyrocketed because of the war, and Daddy still prints coverage that he thinks people need to know. The Ministry of Magic is under Kingsley Shacklebolt now so the Daily Prophet is better (it doesn't tell lies about Harry much anymore) but there have been no mentions of the parts that the merpeople or the centaur or the house elves played in the Battle of Hogwarts, so Daddy made sure to fix that mistake in the Quibbler. He had a full exposé of each. The article interviewing Merchieftaness Murcus was particularly discussed- it was all in mermish so it was very difficult to put into writing.

Everyone one seemed perfectly capable of conversing with each other at the Weasley table so I got up from my seat. The sun was setting soon. Neville and Ginny both broke off from their conversations looking at me questioningly, but I said vaguely, "I want a look in the gardens, the gnomes are particularly active today." I watched as Neville and Ginny smiled benignly, happily believing my reasoning. Hermione shook her head in exasperation, but smiled "allowing" for my insanity. Only Harry gave me a look that meant he truly understood- sometimes the gnomes are just an excuse. Sometimes you just need to think in the garden, get away. George looked up too, and there was a flicker of understanding in his eyes as well.

Loss somehow connects people- George and Harry, who have lost the most, understand the desire for solitude sometimes. For Harry, it puts him at peace, so he can think of those he's lost and smile. For George it's so he can break down, away from the sympathetic looks, fellow mourners, and the demand for his happy-go-lucky persona.

The others feel loss differently. Ronald cannot break down- he needs to be surrounded by family, by Harry and Hermione. Hermione too finds solace in company- in Ron's arms. Ginny and Neville are strong- they don't show if they break down or not, but I know that Ginny does. She'll never admit that she falls prey to one every night in her bedroom, thinking of her brother.

I smiled faintly at the faces of my friends and picked my way to the garden. The gnomes were an excuse to be alone, but now that I was there I thought I might as well join them. I went to sit on a stump near a particularly large, fat gnome struggling to escape down his little hole at the sight of me. I reached over to pat his brown, wrinkly head, but he shrieked, "DON'T!" and managed to pop back into his hole feet first before I had to chance to pat him. Ah well. No gift from the Gnumblies today.

I scanned the garden- not nearly enough snargaluffs, dirigible plums, or even mistletoe! (Really now, no dirigible plums? The dirigible plum's value to creative thought and clear-headed intelligence is obvious- why did they not have the plant surrounding the house? Perhaps that is why every Weasley is in Gryffindor: no dirigible plums to counteract the foolish bravery instincts with coolheaded intelligence. Perhaps next time I should bring some over to plant in their garden.) Besides the absence of such beneficial flora, it was a beautiful, untamed garden, and I could just see the top of my house from the vantage point of my stump. On the other side of town, out near Stoat's Head Hill, Daddy's and my rebuild home sat, puffing smoke from the chimney.

It took a lot of work to rebuild our home. First we had to sort through the rubble and save Daddy's printing press, and then Daddy insisted he keep printing outside next to the house, just to keep the Quibbler going. The magical maintenance workers for hire were all working on rebuilding Hogwarts that summer, as were the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Neville. So Dean Thomas came to help. I like Dean a lot. He is very helpful and is always very nice to Daddy. Of course we spent a lot of time together last year before the Battle of Hogwarts- at Shell Cottage he was my only companion really once Mr. Ollivander left. Harry, Ronald, and Hermione were too busy planning with Griphook the goblin. Dean helped me repaint my bedroom- he enjoys painting as much as I do, and even showed me know to make the colors shimmer with a charm. He doesn't always understand when I try to explain Blibbering Humdingers or Snargalavarious Beetles, but he tries and he always listens.

It was late and the sun was nearly gone behind Stoats Head Hill. Firebugs lit their lanterns and began to fly around the garden, glowing like faeries. I heard a shout, and a minute later Ronald, Charlie, George, Ginny, and Harry ran from the back of the house to the broom shed, fighting over who would be stuck with the old gear. They grabbed their brooms and immediately kicked off, hovering above the clearing next to the garden designated for their frequent games. Ginny waved to me from the air and I smiled back up at her.

Hermione and Neville sidled over, the former reading a thick tome by wand light- "A History of the 'Being': What are 'Being' Rights?" The cover had a picture of the Fountain of Magical Brethren with its wizard, witch, centaur, house-elf, and goblin statues. Hermione was muttering to herself and trying to hold her wand in her mouth while crossing something out in the thick book with her ink-stained quill. She sat down next to the stump, pouring over the miniscule text and seemed not to notice anything else. Perhaps, because of her interest in house-elves, Hermione will start in the Department and Control of Magical Creatures. It certainly looks that way.

Neville tapped me on the shoulder and I turned, surprised, but he simply gestured for me to move over, a wide grin on his face. Smiling back I allowed him purchase on the wide old stump; he made himself comfortable, an arm linking through mine. Neville has always understood me- he has experienced the same things, wanted to belong just as much as I have, wants friends just as much as I do.

Hermione wasn't reading anymore, but watching the Quidditch game, amused, as Harry and Ron argued with Charlie and George over which team got Ginny.

"Luna!" Ginny hollered, smiling from twenty feet above my head, "You'll commentate this match?"

Neville was shaking with laughter next to me, the boys grinned amusedly, but it was Hermione saying, "Oh please do, Luna, I don't think I can bear to watch another Quidditch match without something fun to listen to," that finally made me nod in assent, smiling at the cheers that greeted the agreement. As I whispered the charm to magnify my voice and cheers and laughter were filling the air, I could only think of one word, repeated over and over:

"Friends."


End file.
